Stephanie Spitzer-Hanks

Called Stephanie a day before my water broke at 4AM the next morning, I was stubborn since I’ve already had my first & I wasnt doing a homebirth planned on epidural, didn’t think I needed a doula despite what my girlfriends were advising. Boy was I wrong! What would of been a negative experience turned into an empowered experience and a Natural birth! My mom was a nervous wreck, babys father at home getting our 3 yr old ready, nurses were nice but very busy, Stephanie was my rock & support!

Stephanie is an angel. Honest to goodness, no other way to describe the kind of dedicated, hard-​working woman she is. I gave birth, for my first time, five months ago to a beautiful baby girl. She helped me to do it with as little fear or pain as could be expected from me. (I’m a little dramatic when it comes to upcoming hurdles) I can say I was terrified to give birth. But then I heard about doulas and how they can help, so I signed up for the GALS program. I thank my Heavenly Father that he assigned her to me. I was nervous about having a «stranger» help me through such an intimate human experience. But, she came over and met me at my house (I was 7 months pregnant) calmed my fears, answered my many questions, asked me about my concerns going in. I really needed that reassurance at the time. After she helped me through my birth journey, I consider her invaluable to the experience. I was induced because my daughter was a week overdue. I had no clue how difficult it was going to be, but Stephanie was ALWAYS right beside me. She put up with all my discomforts, rubbed my legs, fed me ice chips, summoned the nurses when needed, left when I wanted a moment with my husband, came at my beck and call through the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do. Most importantly, she kept me calm and focused, helped me breathe and stay as relaxed as I could have been under the circumstances. During the hardest part, she looked me deep in my eyes, and snapped me out of the agonizing death grip of pain I was feeling. It felt like having my mother with me, how much she cared for me. (My mother is on a church mission far away, and couldn’t be there.) Being my first birth, I cannot express what it is like to have such a wonderful comforting friend to be that shoulder to lean on (literally), and how i would have felt leaving that birth experience, had i not had her by my side. It’s hard enough for your spouse and family to watch you go through that pain, feeling as helpless to alleviate it, as they must feel. But Stephanie was a professional, a solid peaceful rock when i needed it most. I had the best birth experience, with no lingering regrets or wishing anything had been done differently. The only thing i left with, was my adorable little girl. Happy Birthday Stephanie. May you have even half the happiness you’ve given to my life.

I didn’t know what having a doula would be like, but Stephanie helped me far more than I expected. She answered my questions and listened to my fears during the pregnancy, and stayed in close contact with me leading up to the birth. She helped me think through my birth plan, and I felt comfortable asking her even silly questions. During the birth, she was invaluable. I had originally thought that having my husband and mom there would be enough people – but it turns out that with pitocin-​induced contractions, I absolutely needed three people helping me stay focused! She also visited after the birth to answer more of my questions and offer some general breastfeeding support, too.
I had wanted an intervention-​free birth, but it didn’t work out that way. Despite being induced, with her help and support I was able to give birth without pain medication or an epidural. She kept me focused AND kept my mom and husband focused on helping me effectively. Having Stephanie there gave me the best of both worlds – I was under a doctor’s care in the hospital, but I feel like I got a natural birth experience despite being induced.